The court was in chaos, but Zhu Di did not stop him this time. In the end, he made up his mind to let his second son join the feudal clan.
The grandson is already sixteen years old. After years of training by him and frequent hanging out with military commanders, he has the qualifications to be the future prince. With him in charge, he can still continue the strategy of using force to suppress culture.
Zhu Di looked down on his eldest son, but he was particularly fond of his eldest grandson, which was the same as his father Zhu Yuanzhang.
In the past, Zhu Di was very angry that his father and emperor were separated from each other by a generation, but now it was his turn, but he was also the same.
Finally, Zhu Di became what he hated most!
After the morning court ended, the civil servants looked at Li Qing with increasingly kind eyes. On the way out of the palace, officials came up to chat from time to time.
Don't reach out to hit anyone with a smiling face. Li Qing doesn't refuse anyone who comes, and can chat with anyone, looking like he's very talkative.
When the King of Han became a vassal, the civil servants were extremely excited, and everyone was happier than during the Chinese New Year.
However, some people are happy and some are worried.
The most worrying person is the person involved, King Zhu Gaoxu of Han.
Hanhan didn't expect that he would lose. The prince was grounded, the cabinet was imprisoned, the minister was demoted, and the minister was beheaded. All the situations showed that he was very close to becoming the prince.
In fact, if Li Qing hadn't intervened yesterday, he would probably be the prince now.
He never expected that the situation would take a drastic turn in just one day.
Poor Hanhan, he didn't realize that he could stay in Aurous Hill, not because he had the ability to stay, but because his father wanted him to stay.
Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Gaoxu burst into tears, "Father, have you forgotten the promise you made during the Jingnan period?"
He was really sad and angry. Isn't this playing tricks on people?
"What did I say?" Zhu Di asked doubtfully.
"Your Majesty is very ill, so you should encourage him!"
"..." Zhu Di's face heated up and he denied it, "I never said that."
Zhu Gaoxu was stunned. It took him a long time to come back to his senses, and he was suddenly furious, "Father, how could you do this?"
"What's this?" Zhu Di asked in surprise, "Gao Xu, why do you keep talking nonsense?"
"I……"
Zhu Gaoxu, a big man, was so angry that he cried because of Zhu Di's shamelessness.
"Father, why have I committed such a crime that you want me to be banished and exiled?" Zhu Gaoxu roared, "Did my contribution to the Jingnan Campaign become less?
Why do I risk my life to fight?
My father really doesn’t remember anything he promised me?"
Zhu Di had a guilty conscience after all. If his son dared to speak to him like this on normal days, he would have made a big mouth out of him, but today he was extremely kind.
"Xu'er, you really look like..."
"It's a pity that I'm not the boss, right?" Zhu Gaoxu shouted.
After three times of teaching, Zhu Gaoxu has mastered the rope. How could Zhu Gaoxu not make any progress after eating the cake for so many years?
"If you want me to become a vassal, you might as well kill me." Zhu Gaoxu yelled in grief and anger, "What crime have I committed that you want to treat me like this?"
Zhu Di had a headache. Seeing his son's aggrieved face and tears in his eyes, he couldn't help but feel heartbroken.
"Since ancient times, you have been the direct descendant, Gao Xu..."
"I don't want the position of prince." Zhu Gaoxu seized the vitality in his words and said quickly, "I just want to stay with my father. My mother is not in good health, so I want to fulfill my filial piety."
To show his sincerity, he added: "Isn't it okay that I don't want the two guards my father gave me to my son?"
When the conversation reached this point, Zhu Di didn't want to push too hard, so he said, "It's not impossible if you want to stay for a while longer, but sooner or later you will have to leave the vassal state;
Let’s do this, except for Jiangsu and Zhejiang, you can choose anywhere in the world, and I will accept it!”
Zhu Gaoxu didn't want to choose. Once he chose, it would mean that he agreed to become a vassal. But he couldn't say it clearly, so he had to say: "My father and I have the final say."
"Then I will choose one for you." Zhu Di pondered for a moment and said, "Go to Le'an Prefecture!"
Zhu Di had some considerations in choosing Le'an Prefecture. First of all, Le'an Prefecture was not far from Peking, the future Kyoto. The post station was 800 miles away, and it only took a day and night. The closer it was to Kyoto, the less Zhu Gaoxu dared to make big moves.
Secondly, Le'an Prefecture is a small place. Unlike Texas, it doesn't even have a city.
If Zhu Gaoxu dares to resist in the future, his army will approach Le'anzhou and he will not even be able to defend the city.
What's more, Zhu Gaoxu has no bodyguards. Even if he really has the intention in the future, he won't have the ability.
Zhu Di himself usurped the throne, but he didn't want his descendants to play the trick of Jingnan and kill each other.
This arrangement is also to stop Zhu Gaoxu from thinking about it and to protect him.
Zhu Gaoxu said respectfully: "My sons and ministers all obey my father."
What he wants now is not much, as long as he can continue to stay in the capital.
Seeing this, Zhu Di stood up and clapped his hands, "Okay, you can go back."
"My dear, please retire." Zhu Gaoxu bowed his hands and resigned.
After leaving the palace, he looked up at the sky, stunned.
In just one day, he encountered such a change. The ups and downs in his life came so fast that he was caught off guard.
Sighing, Zhu Gaoxu was ready to go back and plan carefully. After all, there was not much time left for him, and he might be forced to surrender at some point.
~
Yongqinghou Mansion.
After lunch, Li Qing took a nap on the recliner as usual. Soon, the maid came to report that there was a guest.
When he came to the front yard, Li Qing was somewhat surprised to see the Minister of Rites.
"It's great to congratulate Li Shangshu for his high promotion!" said the Minister of Rites, well dressed and with a smile on his face.
Li Qing Youshao guessed his purpose and said with a smile, "Please come inside."
The two came to the living room, sat down separately, and exchanged a few words with each other. Li Qing got to the point, "The minister is here not just to congratulate me, right?"
"Uh-huh..." the Minister of Etiquette smiled awkwardly, "I do have something to do, and I would like to discuss it with you, sir."
"But it doesn't matter." Li Qing said very generously, "As long as I can help, I will never stand idly by."
The Minister of Rites' eyes lit up, and he suddenly became energetic, "Li Shangshu is so cheerful, so it is inconvenient for me to hide my secrets. To be honest, my reason for coming here is to clear the land."
He worriedly said, "On the surface, clearing one's land may seem like a good thing, but there are hidden dangers in it."
"Oh?" Li Qing became interested, "What's the cause?"
"Li Shangshu has just transferred from the military to the civil service. He is not familiar with many things and does not know the significance of them. When officials from the capital go to the countryside to clear their land, it gives the officials the opportunity to have close contact with the wealthy gentry, which can easily breed corruption." said a minister of the Ministry of Rites.
He was worried about the country and the people, "Moreover, it will deepen the relationship between officials and gentry!"
Seeing that Li Qing was listening seriously, he struck while the iron was hot, "Not only that, but in order to improve political performance, there will also be cases where officials deliberately report the number of acres of farmland and squeeze the gentry... ahem, squeeze the common people..."
Barabara...
Li Qing sneered in his heart, but his face was deeply convinced, with a solemn expression.
"What the Minister said is reasonable. The country needs to be cautious in its governance. A good national policy, if implemented improperly, will actually do bad things."
"Oh my, Li Shangshu has a sharp eye and can see the key point at a glance. I admire him very much." The Minister of Rites expressed joy and his tone became more affectionate.
After a while of chatting, the Minister of Rites, with his keen eyesight, noticed at a glance that the tea cup was made of blue and white porcelain from the Tang Dynasty, and insisted on buying it.
Li Qing said with a smile, "This is what I bought from the market, not the blue and white porcelain of the Tang Dynasty."
"That's because the seller doesn't understand." The Minister of Rites said seriously, "Xiaguan has a lot of research on antiques. This is absolutely true."
He played with the tea cup, couldn't put it down, and said hopefully: "Li Shangshu is willing to part with me, and I am willing to pay a hundred gold to buy it."
After a pause, he explained, "Xiaguan's family runs a small business and is quite prosperous."
Li Qingxin said: You must be a scholar, so you are so particular about giving gifts.
Strictly speaking, this is not bribery, it is business.
As for whether it is genuine or not, no one cares. The buyer and seller can do it if they wish. The law does not stipulate that a cup cannot be sold for one hundred taels of gold.
Moreover, when paying bribes in this way, there is no need to be afraid of turning over old scores.
Even if you regret the purchase and leave, the seller can just deny it and insist that what he is selling is genuine, which can be said to be a sufficient escape route.
Li Qing smiled and said: "Since the minister likes the beauty of a gentleman, he can take it."
"Huh? How can a low-ranking official take such a precious thing for nothing?" The Minister of Rites took out the money bag that had been prepared and said, "Li Shangshu nodded."
Li Qing opened it and took a look. The golden color was very dazzling, and he immediately said, "The minister is a person I can trust."
"Ah haha..." When the Minister of Rites saw Li Qing accepting the gift, he was immediately elated and said, "Thank you, Li Shangshu, for enduring the pain and parting with me."
After chatting for a while, the Minister of Rites stood up and left.
Li Qing stretched and carried a small bag of gold back to the backyard. As soon as he sat back on the recliner, his buttocks were not warm yet, another guest came to the door.
This time it was the Minister of Justice who came. With the same words and the same formula, Li Qing sold another tea cup.
Before he could return to the backyard, the Minister of Industry came again.
Two quarters of an hour later, he left with the teacup in his arms like a baby.
Then, the Minister of Hubu and the Minister of Personnel came one after another, but they were not to clear their father-in-law's land, but to rescue Huang Huai, Jin Youzi and other cabinet ministers who were in prison.
The cabinet is of low quality, but has great power!
At the same time, the cabinet secretary is closest to the emperor and the prince, so he is naturally the target of civil servants' wooing.
The civil servants of the Ming Dynasty were generally light-hearted, but under the high pressure of military commanders and emperors, the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty were generally very united.
Moreover, both good and bad officials looked down upon generals.
Of course, military generals also looked down upon civil servants.
The relationship between the two parties is like a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law. Currently, the military commander is the mother-in-law and the civil servants are the daughter-in-law.
Since the Hongwu Dynasty, civil servants have played the role of daughter-in-law, and they were often annoyed by the military commander's mother-in-law. During the Jianwen Dynasty, they were in conflict for a while, but soon encountered the fourth son Jingnan.
To be honest, they are quite difficult.
Only one assistant minister came to each department, but he represented the entire department. What Li Qing didn't know was that all the gold and silver were collected bit by bit, and he had spent a lot of money.
It's a pity that they don't understand Li Qing's character.
After half a day, Li Qing made a lot of money.
…
The next day, morning.
Zhu Di announced that he would cut off the guards of the King of Han and change the vassal territory to Le'anzhou. At the same time, he released Jin Youzi, Yang Shiqi and others in prison.
The civil servants were in high spirits and said that the money was not wasted. What they didn't know was that Li Qing didn't mention it at all. It was Zhu Di who wanted to release him.
After all, it is not okay to let the prince assist the country and not use it for others.
After the morning court, Li Qing followed Zhu Di to Qianqing Palace to diagnose and treat Xu Miaoyun.
After acupuncture, Xu Miaoyun's complexion improved a lot and she said softly, "Your Majesty, please don't delay state affairs for the sake of me."
"It's okay, Gao Chi is here to support you." Zhu Di said with a smile, "Miaoyun, take good care of your health. After a while, I will take you back to Peking to have a look. After the new capital is built in a few years, we will move there."
Li Qing saw the two of them chatting with each other and stood up to say goodbye.
Zhu Di said, "You go to the middle hall first. I will tell you something later."
"Well, okay." Li Qing cupped his hands and turned around to go to the middle hall.
…
Li Qing waited in the middle hall for two quarters of an hour before Zhu Di arrived late.
"Okay, no need to salute." Zhu Di interrupted Li Qing's coy pretense, "What suggestions do you have about clearing land?"
As he spoke, he took out a memorandum and said, "This is a memorandum written by the imperial censor. It explains the disadvantages of clearing one's land. Although it is very alarmist, it also has some truth.
This national policy was proposed by you, what methods do you have to prevent its adverse effects?"
Li Qing opened the memorial and found that the content was almost the same as what the Minister of Rites said yesterday. He smiled and said:
"One monk carries water to eat, two monks carry water to eat, and three monks have no water to eat!"
Zhu Di was startled for a moment, and then he stopped laughing, "I'm talking about the household department, the censor, the royal guards, the nobles, and the eunuchs; these are five monks!"